Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Something Beautiful (1998), written by Sharon Dennis Wyeth & illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet, was a wonderful story. The drawings are very nice. In fact, the little girl on the cover, the title character, actually looks like a little girl in my daughter’s class.

I bought this book because it reminds me of the children in my class. Their environment is not the most beautiful, safe, or encouraging place to be. When I saw this book, I knew that I had to buy it and share it with them.

I read this book in response to one of the Open Court stories that we were working on right before break called ” Food from the ‘Hood,” a 4th grade OCR story that detailed the story of the positive beginnings in the aftermath of the 1994 riots in South Central Los Angeles. It is the story of Crenshaw High’s student run business that inspired other schools to start their own business. They have a brand of salad dressing in the store aptly title “Food from the ‘Hood”.

The accompanying journal question, “Can I start a business that helps my neighborhood and make a profit? We discussed possible businesses and then they wrote in their journal. This post could get so long because we really did a lot with this book and the other stuff we were working with, so I will save that for another day and another post. So, as a lead in to this story and as an addendum to my student’s daily writing journal assignment, I asked the students if they could start a business that could help out their neighborhood, when one of my students said that the neighborhood was ugly and there was nothing they could do to clean it up. The students then started telling me about the neighborhood crack heads and the alley where cars race by so fast they can’t walk by without fear of being run over. It was at this point that I told them that I had a book for them since this story is much like their own. Some of them remembered it from last year, but there are some who weren’t in my class last year who really wanted to hear it. This little picture book speaks volumes about children living in horrible circumstances who make the best of their situation.

The title character focuses on a pretty little brown girl who thinks her neighborhood lacks something beautiful. She thinks that because the neighborhood is fraught with crime, homelessness and poverty. One thing, she discovers while hunting for something beautiful, is that there is beauty all around. After walking past the homeless woman sleeping on the street, and after running past the alley where her mother told her never to stop, she finds something beautiful in Miss Delphine’s fish sandwich, in the neighborhood children jumping rope and dancing, Mr. Lee’s fruit stand, old Mr. Sims’ beautiful smooth stone, and her little baby cousin Carl.

However, all of that hope is dashed when she goes back home, sits on her stoop and sees the word Die in bold red letters. Well, she decides to do something about it. But, can one little girl make a difference? Do you think she can? Read it and find out for yourself is she does.

So, as usual, this post has gotten way longer than I wanted it to be. So, I will end it here. Until next time people!

A Review Of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons last night. It was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life. The acting was splendid, and the make-up was absolutely wonderful.

***

Brad Pitt simply amazes me. He totally becomes whatever character he is playing. He is an amazing actor. I don’t think that I ever mentioned I saw him before in person when Phillise was a baby. My husband worked at a voice-over studio and he was there recording something.His Range was blocking the way as I was trying to get into the lot. Before I could get a chance to ask him to move, he held his hand up to tell me to wait and politely moved back. He was only blocking the way because he was listening to the pesky valet trying to hawk a script to him. Anyway, I waved a thank you, to which he nodded. I didn’t know who he was, but I thought that surely he was the best looking person I’d ever seen in my life. His skin was oh so beautiul. His clothes looked like they cost more than I make in a month (They probably did), and his features were simply chiseled. I am not kidding. He is so fiiiiiiiine. You just don’t see people this good looking walking the street everyday. You simply cannot tell that he is as good looking as he is on television. Television absolutely does not do him justice, at all. My husband knows that if I were ever going to leave him that it would be for Brad Pitt if he would have me. I know that as soon as I get that snowball out of Hell, he’ll leave Angelina Jolie and the kids for me. Anyway, enough about that fine specimen of a man and on to talking about the movie.

***

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was great. The casting was excellent. Brad Pitt should get a nod for Best Actor.Taraji Henson and Cate Blachett both did an excellent job. One, or both of them should definitely get a nod for Best Supporting Actress. The make-up artists should get a nod for Best Make-up. The movie was so well written, and the story was an original, refreshing break from the norm.
As for Taraji, she did an amazing job. You really believed that she could have possibly been his mother. No matter that she’s black and he’s white. You really believed that she was his mother.

Cate Blanchett put in an excellent performance as well. The chemistry between her and Brad Pitt was electric. All in all, the movie was phenomenal. Even though I will not give away the ending, I will say that the ending is a tearjerker. You can see it coming, but it’s still sad. I highly recommend this movie. It is well worth seeing. I give it *****/*****. You will too.

Book Snob No More!

Yes, dear readers. I have to admit that I am a former book snob. I used to be I am one of those people who look down my nose on great literature being made into movies. Nope. Upon second thought, I realized that I still do not like the thought of great books being made into movies. I still look down my nose at that particular practice.

Once I’ve read the book, I don’t want my version of things sullied by Hollywood’s version of things. I much prefer to read the book because when I’m reading the book, the characters are of your own creation. They are who I want them to be- not who Hollywood chooses for the role because of their box office star power.

The one thing that bothers me most about great books being made into movies is the creative license that’s taken. Once the new writer changes this or changes that to suit whatever “new” purpose they want to convey, they’ve gone and messed up the book to me. So, I guess I’m still a book snob in that respect.

However, one medium that is newly discovered and loved by me, that has been around forever, is books on tape. My husband has been trying to tell me to listen to books on tape forever, but I would not listen. I stubbornly refused to give up my reading (which I cherish with every fiber of my being). When I’m reading I am totally lost in that book. I felt that listening to it on tape somehow took away from the whole experience. However, I was wrong.

I changed my mind when I discovered Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key on tape. This was like a godsend as I tried reading the book to my students with no luck. Sometimes I would be lost and would forget my place. It certainly didn’t help that most of the students didn’t remember either. I would have to keep going back to sum up the story. So, I abandoned it and was very sad because I really wanted them to hear the story. That’s why I was so happy when I found it on tape.

“Perfect,”I thought. After they come in from Recess and Lunch, I will let them listen to it and we will discuss it. So, that is what we are doing right now and it is working out like a charm. Now, not only am I checking out books for my class, but Phillise and I are checking books on tape out left and right. I simply cannot get enough of them. It’s helping me be more productive. Right now, I am listening to “The Birminghams go to Alabama- 1963″. Plus I am reading a book given to me at the AEMP conference by Baruti K. Kafele, entitled “A Handbook for Teachers of African American Children. In addition to that, I am also reading an organizational book that I got from my sister-in-law on Christmas. Right now I am so productive.

I am thoroughly enjoying my vacation. One of the things I love most about vacations is that I get to read to my hearts content. I read books that I did not make time to read during the year. So, I have to go because, as it happens, this post has gotten way longer than I expected it to.

I have to say before I go though, that I guess I’m still a book snob in one way. Being a book snob is okay, but limiting. I am expanding my repetoire and ways of obtaining information. As always, I will continually seek new ways to be more efficient while being of service to my students and my own children.

But for now, let me go back to my reading and listening, with my snobby self! Until next time people.

Goodbye 2008! Hello 2009!

Well, I didn’t think that this day would ever get here. It’s finally here. December 31, 2008. I cannot believe how much I’ve grown and experienced this year. Last year at this time I was wishing for 2007 to end and 2008 to begin, in hope that the new year would be totally different from the previous one. This year I do not wish the same thing because I have grown so much in my way of thinking, in my teaching, in my parenting, on being a wife, on being a sister, and a friend.

I have changed in nearly every aspect of my life. And ya’ know what I owe it to? I owe it all to this incredibly “hard” past couple of years. Almost All that I am I owe to my hardships. I really can’t remember what I learned during the great times except shopping is great and finding more stores to shop at and more ways to spend money.

• During my hard times I learned how to save money.
• During my hard times I learned what was absolutely necessary and what wasn’t.
• During my hard times I learned more about myself.
• During my hard times I learned how to make a dolla’ holla.

I could go on and on with this list but hopefully you get the picture. So, I say it and mean it with all sincerity that I am not as enthusiastic as I thought I would be for this year to end because I have learned so much. I know more about teaching. I know more about marriage. Basically I know a little bit more (just a little bit) about the world. In essence, I know more about me.

Goodbye 2008. Thanks for all the hard times and great memories! Hello 2009!!! What do you have waiting for me??????

Bad News Regarding My R.I.C.A. Results

Well, as the title suggests, I just received my unofficial scores by e-mail and I did not pass. I am a little bit disappointed but I didn’t study at all. So, the next time I take it I will actually study.

Anxiously Awaiting My R.I.C.A. Results!

Well, today is the day that I get my results from the R.I.C.A. I hope I passed because I don’t want to take it again. If I do, maybe next time I’ll actually study for it.

Getting Down To Business…

Now, that I’ve had a week’s downtime, I am ready to begin on the work that I have planned. I am going to make at least a month’s lesson plans in:

1. ELD
2. Math, and
3. Open Court

Voyager is scripted so I don’t need to make any plans for that. I do, however, have to go to my work site and get my ELD T.E. and my Math T.E. to plan my lessons. I’ll do that as soon as I run a few errands tomorrow. I have a full day planned. So here’s to getting down to business and having a well organized classroom with readily available lesson plans.

**Update- I did one month’s ELD & Math, but not OCR.**

Master Of My Domain!

Remember that Seinfeld episode where Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, & George were all trying to be Master of their respective domains. Well, I want to be Master of my domain, but not that domain. The domain that I’m talking about, the one that I want to be Master of, is Me. I’m talking about being Master of what I do. Whether that’s teaching, knowing myself, or helping others. I want to be the best me-Master of my domain- that I can be.

I don’t believe in making New Year’s Resolutions. I believe in changing myself as the need arises. So, even though the timing is close to the New Year, it is not a New Year’s Resolution. It is simply my promise to myself to change for the better.

Well, Christmas Is Over!

Yes, Christmas is over. It won’t be back for another year. I hate to see Christmas end. It is my favorite time of year. Even though there is so much negativity, that negativity is outweighed by the good. The good feelings will last for at least another 6 days. After New Years, it starts again. So, until next time people!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas! I am on my way to have Christmas breakfast with my in-laws. After that I will come back home and fix the dressing and sweet potato w/marshmallow casserole. Have a great day and enjoy your time with your friends and family.

I Love The Holidays, But…

I do not love:

• rudeness
• the crazy driving
• the crazy parking
• soooo many people

All of the above are my pet peeves any time of the year. It’s just worse around the holidays. So, it’s a good thing that I finished my shopping early. I just wish that I didn’t have to go out all until after Christmas is over. But, all of the frenzy and the craziness will be over soon.

Making Rooom for Something New!

I am so happy that vacation is finally here. NOW, I can do something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time- I can spring fall clean my house. I’ve gotten off to a rip roaring start. I totally cleaned up my room and changed it around. It had been the same for too long. I can’t stand that. I needed a change. So, I changed it. I’m also making room for something new. I want a small chair for reading in my bedroom. So, I made space in a small corner for it. You see, it doesn’t make sense to want something, plan for it, and not make room for it. This simple principle has worked almost all my life. When I want something new, I make room for it. I guess it’s the power of the Law of Attraction. Whatever it is, it works.

The next thing I’m going to change is my dining room. I am re-upholstering the chairs and making new Roman shades. I’m also going to take the leaf out of my table. Right now, the table is 104″ and seats 8. It is taking up too much of my dining room. So, once I remove the leaf, the table will only be 96″ and will seat 6. I’ll put the leaf in for special occassions. For now, that doggone table is way too long.

I’m also planning on updating my bathroom and my laundry room. So, since I have such a long to do list, I don’t have time to be sitting here writing this blog post. So, stop reading this and get out of here! Bye! Are you still here? Go, go do some cleaning up of your own.

Until next time people!

How Do You Spell Gont?

How do you spell gon’t? That’s what one of my students asked me in response to me telling him to write an apology letter to me for his behavior yesterday.

Well, why don’t you tell me what you’re trying to say. I’m trying to say that I’m gont to be good today. Oh, okay, the word you want to use is going.

“No,” he said, “that’s not what I’m saying.” I’m tryna’ say that I’m gont ta’ be good today.”

“I know what you’re trying to say, Nu,” I said, “but it’s different from when you say it and when you spell it.

That’s how some Black people talk. We don’t pronounce the ends of some words, or we don’t pronounce the words correctly. So, while you’re talking to me you’ll say, ” I’m gont ta’ be good today,” when, if you are writing it, you would say, “I’m going to be good today,” I told him.

While I did explain the right words to him, I know enough from going to the AEMP conferences that you can’t correct someone out of their first language. You can expose them to the Standard English way of saying it, but by no means should the student be told that their way is the wrong way. Or that this is the “correct” way to say it.

That being said, I thought it was pretty funny that he questioned me. He was very serious. “Are you sure,” he asked.

“Yes, Nu, I am sure,” I told him. He accepted my answer and wrote it down. He had that look on his face that he gets. It’s a “Huh” or “Aha” look.

So that’s my cute story of the week. Until next time people!

Good Things That Happened To Me Today!

Here’s what good thing happened to me today:

• My Principal told me today that I am doing a great job. It felt so good to hear that.
• I had a party and barely had to pay for anything. I lost my ATM card so my assistant paid for the pizza. The parents brought: chips, apple raisin salad, juice, chicken, and salad dressing. I brought the salad and juice.
• I got two Barbie dolls for Phillise, an Avatar game for David, and a quiz show game for Sam & Dakota.
• I started Christmas vacation today. Enough said with that one. Hallelujah and thank you Jesus for a much needed break!

I Feel Like A Chocolate Popsicle!

It is so cold here in L.A. Since I am native to L.A. I am not used to this. When the thermometer even comes close to 60°, I am so cold. So, now that the thermometer has dipped below 50°, close to 40°, I am going out of my mind. I’ve been looking like an Eskimo the past couple of days. Yesterday I had on a long sleeve shirt with an angora vest atop it, an ankle length skirt with leggings underneath, long boots, gloves, a scarf, and a wool coat. Today, I have on a thick cotton dress with leggings underneath, a scarf, gloves, and a wool coat. Sadly, that is not enough. I as still cold. Oh, how I wish I was home on my comfy, cozy, overstuffed sectional sofa with the heater on and a cover wrapped around me. I don’t have to wait much longer. Today is the last day before vacation. Friday!!!!!!!!!! Wohoooo!

Ice On My Windshield!

As I was leaving this morning, I was so surprised when I turned on my windshield wipers to clear my windshield like I usually do. Well, I turned them on and waited. When the windshield didn’t clear I was left wondering why. Well, I got my answer when I went to the front of my van and tried to wipe the glass. Boy was I surprised to find a thin layer of ice on my windshield. I couldn’t believe it. I knew that it’d been cold, but I didn’t realize it was that cold. I live in L.A. I am not used to this. What am I going to do?

Not Usually Like This…

I have been very short with my students today. I am so short with them because they do not follow directions. The only thing they needed to do was copy something off the board. It should have taken about 10-12 minutes, but it ended up taking about 25 minutes. I know how my class is, that they need more time, so I give very thorough directions. I model it for them and everything. However, when it comes time to do it they completely fall apart. I don’t know what the problem is. Why aren’t they catching on? What am I doing wrong?

I Feel Better Now!

One of the teachers that I work with came up to me and told me that she thinks I am doing a wonderful job with the children. Because before I came, special ed kids were totally out of control. I feel so much better now. I was feeling down just a minute ago. I was wondering if I’m making a difference. I say this because one of my students is so off the hook. I don’t really write on here how he behaves because it would seem like I was lying. Yes, he is that off the hook. Up until about 2 weeks ago, he was behaving himself. Then, suddenly he began acting like his old self. I know what the problem is and am absolutely disgusted about the situation. Let’s just say that some people will do anything for money and leave it at that!

That’s enough about that. Tomorrow is Friday, and the beginning of a beautiful vacation. So, until next time people!

The Newest Meme!

Copied this from Morocco’s site: theommydiaries.wordpress.com

1. What is your occupation right now?? Teacher/ 2nd-5th grade special ed

2. What color are your socks right now? Black

3. What are you listening to right now?? The pitter patter of my daughter’s little stinky feet

4. What was the last thing that you ate? A school lunch hamburger

5. Can you drive a stick shift??? Yes

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister Amber

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? N/A

8. How old are you today? 38

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? basketball None

10. What is your favorite drink? Strawberry banana nectar

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, but nothing crazy, just Jet Black

12. Favorite food? Mashed potatoes

13. What is the last movie you watched? Madagascar 2

14. Favorite day of the year? I’m going to cheat and say Thanksgiving & Christmas

15. How do you vent anger? It depends, usually I get depressed.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I cannot remember

17. What is your favorite season? Winter

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries (white) from Bristol Farms

19. Do you want your friends to respond back? Post a comment, so I know that you visited

20. Living arrangements? Me, husband Phillip, & 4 children Sam, Dakota, David, & Phillise

21. When was the last time you cried? A couple of weeks ago when I was just about to burst from being overwhelmed

22. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes

23. What did you do last night? Went to Cost Plus to do a little shopping

24. What are you most afraid of? Not living up to my “potential”

25. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger? Cheeseburger

26. Favorite dog breed? Poodles

27. Favorite day of the week? Saturday!

28. How many states have you lived in? One

29. Diamonds or pearls?? Pearls

30. What is your favorite flower? Tulip

Twice The Amount, But Still Alright!

Well, today I had 10 students, which is twice the amount of Monday, but it’s still alright. Since my class is split into two groups, sometimes three, it like I only have 5 students anyway. When it rains, some students are calm. However, there’s the flipside with those “other” students who just plain act a fool when it rains. It’s like it’s their full moon to the werewolf.

All in all, only one student acting up is pretty good, I’d say. Oh, well, that’s it for now. Until next time people.

Five Students!

I love the rain. Today I only had five students. It was five of the best students too. I did have Nu but he’s just silly. He loves to laugh, so I make sure he does that all day instead of letting him get the chance to misbehave. Today was a great day. Thank goodness for rainy days! If this happens tomorrow, I may just faint dead away!!!

I Made It!

It’s been a long past couple of weeks, but they are finished. I can’t believe that I made it through. I know I’ve said this before but I honestly did not think I would make it through. My mind was so bogged down. I couldn’t think straight. I knew that once I could get my bearings straight then I could do what I needed to do. But, and that’s a big but, I didn’t know where to start. The important thing is that I got everything done and over with. Hallelujah and thank you Jesus!

Today Is Friday!

Today is Friday! Today is Friday! Today is Friday! Yes, people, today is Friday!

Now, I can finally get some sleep.

Not My Responsibility!

A couple of my students literally live right across the street from the school but do not make it to school on time to eat. The school nurse used to have extra food in her office, but doesn’t anymore. So, if I don’t have any snacks in the classroom they are hungry and out of luck.

I give them snacks some time, but cannot afford to give them snacks all the time. I will go broke. I only have 14 students but feeding the 3 who never eat at home or make it to school to eat breakfast is simply too expensive and not my responsibility.

Where are these parents who send their kids to school hungry? Why are they expecting me to feed their kids? I don’t mean to be cold-hearted or anything, but the more you do for some people, the more they expect.

I’d still like to know what other people would do. Would you feed them at your own expense?

**I forgot to mention that some of my students were taking advantage of the snacks. They would eat and lie and tell me that they didn’t. I found out because my other students would tell me that they had eaten. So I instituted a 2/month snack limit. It works out because I buy the Austin 45 pack of cookies and crackers. My children don’t like the ones that aren’t peanut butter, so I take those to my students. I’m just so mad at the students who try to take advantage. It makes me not want to do anything for them.**

Almost Over!

Today is Thursday. Oh, how I wish it were Friday. I am just not present today. I have been neglecting my lesson plans because of my work @ school. I simply cannot wait to finish. At least it’s almost over! Only 6 more months and I ain’t never going back to school again.

I gotta’ go. Until next time people!

Classroom Management Systems That’s Working For Me

My classroom, for the most part, runs pretty smoothly. One of the ways that I keep the calm is by using Lakeshore money. It’s two-fold. I use it for my classroom management system and I also use it to teach math by making it less stressful and fun.
It has been a resounding success. At first I let them do what I call “Trading Up”. For example, if they have (2) $20 bills and (1) $10 bill, they can trade up for a $50 bill.
As always, there’s always some students that are farther ahead than the others. It’s no exception in my class. There are a couple of students who knew how to trade up from the beginning, so they wanted to Trade Down, but I wouldn’t let them because it would have been too confusing for the students who didn’t know how. So, I told them that we would institute Trading Down at a later date. Trading Down is the opposite of Trading up. When they are trading down they can trade (1) $5 bill for (5) $1 bills.Well, we began Trading Down last week and the students are totally starting to catch on. I’m so proud of them.
I give them $50/week for weekly chores and odd jobs around the classroom. There are a series of rules that must be followed. If they do not, of course, there are consequences. If they break the rules, they have to pay me.
I have a classroom store that I spend about $50/month on to buy various toys from this .99¢ store I found that has wonderful prizes for lower to upper ed students.
This is a list of things I bought: Spiderman calculator, Naruto stickers, mini staplers in a box with mini staple remover, kites, puzzles, markers, cars (of course, I have 12 boys), barbie doll clothes, Hulk pencil sharpeners, pencils, etc. I could go on but you get the picture. My students love it. Since I only allow them to buy on Friday afternoon, they can’t wait.
This system is working like a charm. My students have responded so positively to this system. I think that I will always use it.

Another behavior management system that I use is a timer and tickets. I mentioned it here before about one of my students who I nicknamed Nu who had a serious behavior problem. I mean serious behavior problems.
So this is what I did, I put him on a minute timer. I explained that if he could be still for a minute, he would get a ticket. Ten tickets would get him a prize. For the first two weeks, giving him prizes cost me about $15 dollars. It was so worth it though. Now, even though he moves so much, he sits still for lessons. He even participates. Now that he has calmed down, he’s actually turning out to be a pretty good student. He can do almost all the work. He’s not perfect, but I’m pretty proud of him.

Well, gotta’ go. This post is getting longer than I’d planned. So until next time people!

**Note- With the timer, I moved the time up until he was at 3 1/2 minutes. After that, I told him that he didn’t need the timer anymore, and stopped using it.**

Today

Today, I accomplished absolutely nothing in regard to my classwork. I expected to be finishing up tonight. It turns out I will be finishing up tomorrow. I hate doing last minute work.
What I did accomplish today is getting in a great nap. When I came home, my body told me to go to sleep. It did that as I was nodding off while I was trying to do some reading.
“Lay down,” it said.
“Okay,” I said as I obeyed.
Ahhh, dreamland!
Until next time people!

Up Late!

I’m up late braiding Phillises’ hair and other small errands. Hope I don’t fall asleep tomorrow. Until next time people!

Sesame Street. org

A while back, in August, someone by the name of Rene Barone contacted me and asked me to spread the word about sesamestreet.org. I don’t know how I overlooked the e-mail, but I just opened it and checked out the site. I found it very easy to navigate. There are videos & games. The games were pretty cute with all of the Sesame Street characters. It’s too juvenile for Phillise since she’s reading on a 2nd grade level in first grade. Although Phillise doesn’t need it anymore, and it wouldn’t be beneficial for her, I would recommend it for 2-4 year olds. Check it out!

Well, I’m Glad The Week’s Over!

I just returned from taking the R.I.C.A. It wasn’t bad at all. If I had actually studied, I would definitely have aced it. I have to wait to see if I passed it. I hope I did because even though it wasn’t that bad, it was too long. It took me 3 hours and 5 minutes. I would have been finished if I wouldn’t have written two essays in the wrong place. Writing it over and erasing took a little bit of time. I was a little bit frustrated, but I took a couple of deep breaths and relaxed.
Only time will tell if I passed. Here’s hoping!
Until next time people!

Congratulations Mathew!

Mathew Needleman, creator of Open Court Resources, and author of Creating Lifelong Learners has been nominated for EDUBLOG’S Best Individual Blog and BestTeacher Blog of the Year. Congratulations Mathew. I hope you win.

AEMP Training

Went to AEMP training today and was filled to the brim with strategies and information to use with my students. I am so excited. I spoke with Dr. Noma LeMoine, the director of AEMP. She is wonderful. I wish that I could spend a little bit more time with her and pick her brain. She has a wealth of information.
Being in that conference today made me want to go back to school and study linguistics. You know that it had to be great to make me want to back to school ’cause I hate school right now.
One thing that I loved about the conference was the validity given to Black English Vernacular (BEV), alternatively called African American English (AAE), or most popularly known as Ebonics.
Dr. Lemoine broke it down to include the reasons why Black people speak as they do. One of the examples that she gave was this: Imagine you speak German, Italian, or any other language and you are trying to learn a new language. Even though you know how things are supposed to be said, you instinctively fall back onto your own knowledge. I’m taking too long to get to the point. Basically what she was saying is how when the African slaves who speak the Niger-Congo languages were originally brought over to America from Africa, they weren’t allowed to speak their language, under threat of death. They had to learn English and learn it fast. However, as it was against the law to teach slaves to read, they were stuck. So, they did what came naturally. They “learned” English by using the rules of their language.
Okay, this is all taking much longer to explain than I thought. Basically, I now know why I speak the way that I do when I’m not speaking Standard American English (SAE).
She also spoke about code switching. But this post is getting way too long. So, I’ll write about that on the weekend.

The Week Is Almost Over!

Two I.E.P.s. One held, one cancelled and rescheduled for Friday. I got an extension on the paper for my 2nd class. The paper for the 2nd class is due on Wednesday + an ethnographic lesson plan.
I’m updating my professional development paper to Livetext in a minute, along with my last lesson plan.

Now, all I have to do is go to training tomorrow, hold the rescheduled I.E.P. and hold the three parent conferences on Friday.

I Accomplished A Little More Today!

Well, last night, I had my last meeting with my University supervisor. After that was finished I came home and completed all of the Report Cards. Today I held three parent conferences, completed the paperwork for the two I.E.P.s that I will hold tomorrow, and managed to finish one of the three assignments yet to be completed for my classes. I am going to ask for an extension on my 15-20 page assignment because I just don’t have it in me right now. I need a break. Lord help me!

My Schedule For This Week

Happy December y’all! The month is just beginning, now let it end!!
I have tooo much to do this month. But, once it’s finished, it’s finished!

Due this week:
Final meeting with University Supervisor today
Report cards (last week)
Final Self-Assessment for Fieldwork due Tuesday
15-20 page paper for my 2nd class on Wednesday
Ethnographic lesson plan due Wednesday
2 Annual I.E.P.s on Wednesday
Training on Thursday
Parent Conferences throughout the week
Taking the R.I.C.A. on Saturday

I cannot wait until this week is over!!!!